Suicidal
Ralof ran up the stairs of the tower. What a mess. One moment he was going to the chopping block and the next there is a creature of legend destroying the entirety of Helgen. He should probably unbind that prisoner soo-
The dragons head burst through the wall at the top of the stairs. Fuck. Stumbling back and looking for some way to escape, he almost collided with the prisoner. Once the dragon was gone, the hole it left allowed him and the bound man of ice to see Helgen in all its blazing glory. He called him an iceman with reason, for despite all the shock and stress of the last few minutes he had yet to lose his calm, or even show more emotion than simple anger and annoyance. The man had even seemed calm and calculated on the chopping block, eye to eye with a fucking DRAGON for divine's sake!
Pulling his mind back to the task at hand, Ralof looked for possible escape routes. There were none. The dragons attack had collapsed the stairs. Coming to think of it, why had they run up the stairs in the first place? To get closer to the dragon? For a moment he considered jumping down to the inn, but a fall from such a height would surely break even the strongest man's legs, not to mention the fact that the inn itself was near collapsing and engulfed in flames. In a moment of panic fuelled hysteria, he tried to turn his silly idea into a joke. For that's all that such a suicidal plan could ever be.
"See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going!"
But instead of a laugh, smirk or blank stare he got a nod of acknowledgement. Before he could react any further, the insane man, hands useless and still bound, with no way to catch himself on impact, jumped. He fell an entire story, past debris and flames, and hit the inn floor. Running. He hit the inn floor running. The only sign that he had not just stepped down a mere step a single grunt of exertion. Snapping himself out of his shock, Ralof yelled:
"Go! We´ll follow when we can!"
He didn´t want the man to think they had simply abandoned him. Not that he seemed to need much help. At this point, he had already taking a single bound down the inns stairs and run out of the door. Where he came face to face with the dragon again. From his vantage point he could see the dragon inhale. He screamed alarm, but was drowned out by the chaos. The man turned 90 degrees, trying to flee. No use. He was hit by the full burst as the dragon followed his path. Ralof stood and stared in horror. But instead of the smouldering corpse, or worse, the screaming fumbling roasting figure he had expected to emerge, the fearless man broke from the jet of flames still running at full tilt, obviously burned and hurt, but none at all hindered. Where all the others that where hit were incapacitated, dead and doomed, he seemed to treat the inferno of one of the hottest fires known to Nirn as a normal man would treat a torch. It hurt and should be avoided, but touching it is not an instant doom.
It was then Ralof knew. This was no mere man. This was a hero of legends. One who could and would go toe to toe with some of the greatest horrors and still emerge with nothing but a few scars, trophies and new stories to be told. He knew that if any man could make it out alive in this nightmare, it would be this one.
And Ralof´s own best bet was at his side.
Now to just find him again.
o0o0o0o
Not so far away, separated by only a small fall and years of estrangement, stood and stared an old friend, donned in imperial garb. He had seen the same.
Damn if that man was a prisoner to be put to death.
It was the one he just KNEW would make it out.
He set off through the flames , explosions and falling rocks.
o0o0o0o
Authors Note
o0o0o0o
No, I don't believe that two people found a single running man in a burning village simultaneously by accident.